Samyang Biopharm, Crosspoint Therapeutics team up to develop next-generation targeted gene therapy

Samyang Biopharm has joined forces with biotech venture Crosspoint Therapeutics to develop a targeted anticancer gene therapy that combines a next-generation gene-delivery platform with antibody technology.

Samyang Biopharm announced Monday that it signed an MOU with Crosspoint Therapeutics, a biotech company specializing in targeted therapies, at the Samyang Discovery Center in Pangyo on Friday to jointly develop a next-generation targeted selective gene therapy.

The agreement combines Samyang Biopharm's polymer- and lipid-based gene-delivery platform X-SENS with Crosspoint's antibody platform StealthBody to create a therapy that selectively targets cancer cells.

The two companies have been assessing the feasibility of integrating the two technologies since August last year, conducting early-stage evaluations using cell and animal models. Under the MOU, they will jointly pursue feasibility studies and proof-of-concept research over the next two years, with plans to explore preclinical development and full-scale commercialization depending on the results.

The ultimate goal is to attach StealthBody — which recognizes specific tumor cells — to X-SENS, which is capable of nucleic acid delivery, to create a therapy that precisely delivers small interfering RNA (siRNA) to cancer cells.

X-SENS is an expandable platform built on Samyang Biopharm's proprietary delivery vehicle SENS, enhanced with new components to enable binding with a variety of targeting ligands. Compared with conventional lipid nanoparticles, it reduces immune responses and toxicity associated with repeated dosing, and can deliver nucleic acids to a range of tissues beyond the liver, including the lungs and spleen.

Crosspoint's StealthBody is an Fc-silencing platform that introduces mutations in the Fc region of an antibody to block binding with immune cell receptors. It preserves the antibody's inherent target-binding capability while suppressing unnecessary immune activation and drug uptake by healthy cells, reducing side effects and improving target selectivity.

"Through this collaboration, we will develop a next-generation gene therapy that goes beyond organ-level targeting to directly home in on individual cancer cells by incorporating StealthBody antibodies," said Kim Kyung-jin, chief executive of Samyang Biopharm. "We will demonstrate our technological edge in the anticancer gene therapy market by leveraging the competitiveness of our platform."

Samyang Biopharm is the pharmaceutical and biotech arm of Samyang Group, spun off from Samyang Holdings in a corporate split in November 2025. Its core businesses include drug development based on drug delivery system technology, the world's leading biodegradable sutures, aesthetic medical devices, and anticancer drugs led by Genexol, the top-prescribed paclitaxel-based cancer treatment in South Korea.